Ogden College News Agriculture
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Empowering. Connecting. Serving. OCTOBER 2014 NEWSLETTER INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Agriculture 6 Ogden College News AMS 11 WKU FARM HARVESTS FIRST INDUSTRIAL HEMP CROP Biology 10 Thursday, September 11th marked a big day for student volunteers and staff at WKU Chemistry 12 Farm. The first industrial hemp crop was harvested with volunteers cutting the hemp by hand. Computer Science 5 The crop is part of a joint effort with the University of Kentucky. Data will be collected Engineering 7 regarding fiber production and the nitrogen levels the hemp needs to grow well. This data will be compiled by staff at UK and sent to the Kentucky Department of Agricul- ture. Paul Woosley, WKU Agriculture Associate Professor, stated, “The data gathered Geography & Geology 8 at WKU will help to determine which seeds and fertilization rates are most successful with the type of soil common in the area.” Mathematics 5 This joint effort with UK is made possible by a special provision in the federal Agricultur- Physics & Astronomy 9 al Act of 2014 which allows state agriculture departments and institutions of higher learning to grow industrial hemp to study hemp growth and marketing. WKU is one Psychological Sciences 13 university of many deciding to take part in this research effort. According to WKU Agronomy professor Todd Willian the hemp planted at the WKU Farm grew well even though planted during a period of drought due to a delay in seed delivery. Dr. Willian named uses of the plants ranging from making clothing and concrete to a material for bedding. Want To Support the Ogden For the full article in the BG Daily News College Fund For Excellence? click here: Hemp Harvest. Please click below Paul Woosley, associate professor in the Agriculture Department, talks to the volunteers about harvesting, bundling and weighing the hemp plants. Pictured above are the 2014-15 Ogden College of Science & Engineering Student Ambassadors Left to right: Ryan White, Ellen Vice, Kyle Stewart, Tori Hampton, Tyler Smith, Elizabeth Oates Ogden College News, Cont. WKU WELL REPRESENTED AT KENTUCKY INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP CONFERENCE IN LOUISVILLE Thirteen posters were presented by WKU faculty and students at the Kentucky Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference in Louisville on September 5th. Twelve of the posters were presented by individuals from Ogden College. Several collaborative projects were on display along with a wide array of participation from departments all across campus such as Marketing, CIS, Sociology and Kinesiology, Recreation & Sport. Presenter Department Poster Title Keith Andrew Physics & Astronomy A Strength Characterized Nanofiber Modified Concrete Substrate Keith Andrew Physics & Astronomy A Coupled ODE Meme Based GIS Model for an Ebola App from Data Mining Twitter Ferhan Atici Math Parameter Estimations of Sigmoidal Models of Cancer Jason Crandall Kinesiology, Recrea- Bingocize TM 3.0: A Unique Mobile Application for Improving Physical and Mental Fitness in Older Adults tion & Sport Vladmir Physics & Astronomy Energy Efficient Portable Unit for Real Time Monitoring of Environmental Hazards and Physiological Characteristics of Dobrokhotov First Responders Ashely Duvall Agriculture Automated Estrous Detection in Cattle Grace Egbujor Physics & Astronomy Surface Microstructure Evolution of Metallic Specimens Using the Large Chamber Scanning Electron Microscope Paige Huzyak Chemistry Carbon-based Siloxane Nanoarrays for Power Generation from Waste Heat Jerry D. Monroe Biology A Zebrafish Assay for Testing Ototoxicity of Platinum-Based Anti-Cancer Drugs Matthew Nee Chemistry Real-time Monitoring of Photocatalytic Reactions Eric Steinfelds Physics & Astronomy Single-Cell Power Generator with Multi-Decade Performance using Century-Scale Recyclable Materials Bangbo Yan Chemistry Development of Novel Porous Materials for Mercury Removal Leyla Zhuhadar Computer Information Semantically Enriched Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Platform Systems New Department Chair Appointments Dr. Greg Arbuckle (Department Chair, Architectural & Manufacturing Sciences) earned his BS degree in Mechanical Technology in 1996 from Indiana State University. He received his MS in Industrial Tech- nology from Eastern Illinois University in 1999. He then acquired his PhD in Technology Management in 2004 from Indiana State University. His interests are in quality assurance, robotics, automation and 2+2 program development. Dr. James Gary (Department Chair, Computer Science) is originally from Lou- isville, KY. He earned a BA from Indiana University Bloomington as a double major in Physics and Mathematics. He then earned a MS in Computer Studies from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. After working as an instructor of Computer Science for three years at Winston Salem State University, he Dr. Greg Arbuckle returned to Kentucky to work as an instructor at the University of Kentucky in Lexington while he completed his PhD. He then worked for three years as an assistant professor of Com- puter Science at Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma before coming to WKU in 1998. He plays the banjo and rides his Harley to work most days. Dr. James Gary Article continued on page 3 2 Ogden College News, Cont. New Department Chair Appointments (cont.) Dr. Kelly Madole (Department Chair, Psychological Sciences) received her PhD in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992 and has been at WKU since 1999. She has authored or co-authored numerous articles, chapters, and conference presentations in the area of infant cognition, especially the early development of object categorization. More recently she has examined the development of social categorization in children and young adults. At WKU, she teaches courses in Developmental Psychology and Psychological Research Methods. She has previously served WKU as Interim Dean of Graduate Stud- ies and Research and as University Senate Chair. Kelly is married to Lance Hahn and she has two chil- dren who take up most of her spare time. In the very few minutes left, she enjoys cooking, reading, and speculating about the role of nature and nurture in BBC’s thriller “Orphan Black.” Dr. Kelly Madole GIRL POWER! GIRLS EMBRACE SCIENCE AT SKyTeach EVENT ver two hundred girls in grades 5 through 12 had the opportunity to explore O various topics in math, technology, engineering and science during exciting interactive sessions. SKyTeach and Ogden College sponsored “Girls In Science Day” at Snell Hall on Saturday, September 6th. Attendees met Ogden Dean Dr. Cheryl Stevens who spoke to them about having high expectations for themselves and setting strong goals. Students also met other women employed in STEM careers. A pizza lunch was provided and at the end of the day, participants viewed a spectacu- lar Chemistry magic show by Alicia Pesterfield (pictured below left). Photos above and below by To view a full article in the BG Daily News, click here: Girls Seek Science Bryan Lemon, WKU Ogden College of Science & Engineering Congratulates our 2014 Staff Excellence Award Recipients Administrative Support Winner Skilled/Technical/Paraprofessional Winner Wendy DeCroix, Office Coordinator Jeremy Waddell, Manager, Dairy Herd Geography & Geology Deparmtent WKU Farm 3 Ogden College News, Cont. GREEN RIVER PRESERVE CELEBRATES SUMMER HAPPENINGS AT THE GRP 10th ANNIVERSARY by WKU News by Dr. Ouida Meier The WKU Green River Preserve’s Mis- The preserve closed on a 16.6 acre tract addition, thanks to sion is to foster knowledge and pro- the WKU Research Foundation. This area is ideally suited for tection of the natural heritage of this a future research and education campus at the Preserve. The highly diverse region. The 1520 acre total size of the Preserve is now 1520 acres. site is located in Hart County and in- cludes seven miles of river frontage. Summer brought several groups of prospective WKU stu- In ten years hundreds of endangered dents to the Preserve for excursions with canoeing to include mussels have been released, more the GEAR Up program with students from all over Kentucky, than 14,000 trees have been planted, A Jr. ROTC group from Allen-County Scottsville High School, wildlife and plants have been invento- and some other Friends of the Preserve. We hope to see all ried and numerous student research of these students as future Hilltoppers! projects have been conducted. In addition Darlene Applegate, a WKU archaeologist, led stu- The Preserve marked its tenth anniversary with a celebration dents in her Archaeology Field Camp course in the careful on Saturday, September 27th. The event included remarks work of excavating and documenting the site where the from WKU President Gary Ransdell, Dr. Terry Wilson of bricks for the historic Gardner House at the Preserve were WKU’s Center for Environmental Education and Sustainabil- made over 200 years ago. The kiln allowed some of the ity, Sarah Craighead of Mammoth Cave National Park, Dr. bricks to be fired specially to produce a shiny black glazing Ritchie Kessler of the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation along one edge, and this was incorporated into the Flemish Fund Board and WKU students and faculty. Bond construction design of the house—a pinnacle of engi- neering for strength and aesthetics two centuries ago in Ken- tucky. We were honored to host Kentucky Wounded Heroes and their families for two canoeing weekends in August. We thank them and their families for their willingness to serve and for what this service has cost them. The work of many friends of the Preserve, including